]]>https://mltawa.asn.au/2019/01/year-11-12-atar-collaboration-days-2019/feed/0International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019https://mltawa.asn.au/2019/01/international-year-of-indigenous-languages-2019/
https://mltawa.asn.au/2019/01/international-year-of-indigenous-languages-2019/#respondSat, 26 Jan 2019 15:08:16 +0000https://mltawa.asn.au/?p=8471Languages play a crucial role in the daily lives of people, not only as a tool for communication, education, social integration and development, but also as a repository for each person’s unique identity, cultural history, traditions and memory. But despite their immense value, languages
around the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate.

With this in mind, the United Nations declared 2019 The Year of Indigenous Languages (IY2019) in order to raise awareness of them, not only to benefit the people who speak these languages, but also for others to appreciate the important contribution they make to our world’s rich cultural diversity.

In Australia, of the estimated original 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, only around 120 are still spoken. Of these approximately 90 per cent are endangered.

IY2019 is an opportunity to continue raising awareness and taking further actions to improve preservation and promotion of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.

]]>https://mltawa.asn.au/2019/01/international-year-of-indigenous-languages-2019/feed/0Language Resources at the State Library of Western Australia: Free PLhttps://mltawa.asn.au/2018/07/language-resources-at-the-state-library-of-western-australia-free-pl/
https://mltawa.asn.au/2018/07/language-resources-at-the-state-library-of-western-australia-free-pl/#commentsMon, 30 Jul 2018 09:58:36 +0000https://mltawa.asn.au/?p=8083The State Library of Western Australia is celebrating the launch of the languages materials developed in collaboration with the Office of Multicultural Interests as part of the Sharing Our Multicultural Heritage – many cultures, many languagesproject by holding a free professional learning event for community language and modern language teachers. (Some of the MLTAWA conference attendees have already had a little sneak peek!)

As part of the launch you will be shown how to access free online guides for Languages teaching resources, provided with a presentation of support materials and given opportunities to network. Refreshment is provided.

]]>https://mltawa.asn.au/2018/07/language-resources-at-the-state-library-of-western-australia-free-pl/feed/3ELLA survey for primary school teachers of Languageshttps://mltawa.asn.au/2018/04/ella-survey-for-primary-school-teachers-of-languages/
https://mltawa.asn.au/2018/04/ella-survey-for-primary-school-teachers-of-languages/#commentsMon, 09 Apr 2018 02:37:21 +0000https://mltawa.asn.au/?p=7778There is still time to participate in the The University of Melbourne’s anonymous online survey, and also potentially an interview, about the Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) Program and the use of technology in the classroom. The survey is part of important research which will be provided, in the form of a report, to the federal government. Please consider having your say.

If you are interested in participating, you must have your principal’s permission. For more information about participation and how to obtain your principal’s consent, please contact Prof John Hajek at j.hajek@unimelb.edu.au as soon as possible.

]]>https://mltawa.asn.au/2018/04/ella-survey-for-primary-school-teachers-of-languages/feed/2Have your say! – an invitation for primary school Languages teachershttps://mltawa.asn.au/2018/03/have-your-say-an-invitation-for-primary-languages-teachers/
https://mltawa.asn.au/2018/03/have-your-say-an-invitation-for-primary-languages-teachers/#respondFri, 23 Mar 2018 06:14:23 +0000http://mltawa.asn.au/?p=7713The University of Melbourne is seeking Primary School teachers, including of Languages, who may be willing to complete an anonymous online survey, and also potentially an interview, about the Early Learning Languages Australia (ELLA) Program and the use of technology in the classroom.

The focus of the survey is twofold:

to gain insight into teacher perceptions of possible benefits primary school students display having participated in an ELLA program at preschool

to understand teacher perspectives on the possible inclusion of ELLA apps and related resources into the early years of primary school.

If you are interested in participating, you must have your principal’s permission. For more information about participation and how to obtain your principal’s consent, please contact Prof John Hajek at j.hajek@unimelb.edu.au as soon as possible.

We look forward to your involvement in the project and thank you for informing this important research which will be provided in the form of a report to the federal government.

]]>https://mltawa.asn.au/2018/03/have-your-say-an-invitation-for-primary-languages-teachers/feed/0Australian Computational and Linguistics Olympiadhttps://mltawa.asn.au/2018/02/australian-computational-and-linguistics-olympiad/
https://mltawa.asn.au/2018/02/australian-computational-and-linguistics-olympiad/#respondThu, 08 Feb 2018 04:29:59 +0000http://mltawa.asn.au/?p=7644Are you good at problem solving, uncovering patterns and cracking codes? OzCLO, the Australian Computational and Linguistics Olympiad, a state, national and international competition for secondary students (Years 9 – 12) will run again in 2018!

To register a school team, go to www.ozclo.org.au. UWA Linguistics will be running a training session for students who have not competed in OzCLO before, and this will take place towards the end of February. For more details, contact the Discipline Chair, Associate Professor Marie-Eve Ritz at the following address: marieeve.ritz@uwa.edu.au

]]>https://mltawa.asn.au/2018/02/australian-computational-and-linguistics-olympiad/feed/0PowerLanguage Resourceshttps://mltawa.asn.au/2018/01/powerlanguage-resources/
https://mltawa.asn.au/2018/01/powerlanguage-resources/#respondFri, 12 Jan 2018 04:40:07 +0000http://mltawa.asn.au/?p=7586Nadine Fraize is part of the PowerLanguage resource development team and is charge of writing Responsive, Transition and ‘From Your Colleagues’ resources. In the past, Nadine has lived in WA and worked in Perth schools as a French teacher and is familiar with the Western Australian context. Now based in France, and writing resources for systems in Scotland and the UK, Nadine invites WA teachers and schools to access these affordable and quality resources. Nadine writes:

PowerLanguage has been producing interactive resources and ebooks for Education Scotland and many Local Authorities around the United Kingdom since 2006. We are also involved in teacher training projects across the European Union, China and Australia.

With the compulsory introduction of 2 additional languages in all primary schools in Scotland, our resources have provided invaluable help to teachers, many of them non-language specialists and have ensured a successful implementation in many schools.

1/ Online course for primary school teachers

This hands-on and practical course has been developed specifically for primary teachers. Through active learning and a gentle progression, teachers will be able to (re)visit basic topics and language related to general everyday situations. The course is also designed to help practitioners introduce French/Spanish to their learners.
The success of the course lies in the flipped classroom approach: teachers learn at home, and part of their homework is to teach their pupils what they have learned during the course!

2/ Online course for parents: PowerLanguage in the wider community!

Parents, carers, grand-parents and other family members can learn a language in a stimulating and interactive way. The course opens up opportunities for families to support their children’s learning – and sometimes for children to support their parents’ learning!

3/ The PowerLanguage Platform

The PowerLanguage Platform is available to single schools as well as clusters.

It is already being used by 50% of Local Authorities in Scotland and has been supporting Scottish teachers for over 4 years. Progressive planners, sound files, videos and à la carte resources, have made the Platform invaluable to many colleagues in primary schools.

Our programmes are very flexible and can easily be adapted to the WA/Australian curriculum.

Our “responsive” resources allow teachers to embed language content within the every day curriculum and encourage a “soft CLIL” approach.

This is a great chance to re-engage students, and encourage exam revision, while working towards the chance of individual and school glory – and prizes!

A few things to remember with this particular event:

* The Championships run from August 28th to September 4th 2017
* Competition begins and ends at 12pm (noon)
* There is no cost for this event – entry is included for students who already subscribe, but you are welcome to register additional classes/students for this competition at no extra charge
* Certificates are not generated for this competition – we can provide you with a template should you wish to generate your own awards for your students
* Don’t forget to bookmark the official information page, which includes a link to your scoreboard.

We are also excited to announce that 2017’s competition marks the inaugural inclusion of Noongar as an official language in the Western Australian Championships! Special thanks go to Sharon Gregory, Noongar Language Teacher and author of our beautiful Noongar content, and Kate Reitzenstein, AISWA Languages Consultant and President of the Modern Language Teachers’ Association of Western Australia, for their contribution to this exciting project.

Contact content@languageperfect.comsaying “Tell me more about Noongar!” if you’re keen to learn more about this wonderful Australian Language!

As part of the Languages in the Mainstream project, a forum was held for 240 Year 10 students at UWA. Here is what some had to say about the experience:

On the 9th of May, Year 10 Languages students were given the opportunity to attend: “Language For My Future at UWA.” The presentation was very informative and it truly was a worthwhile experience. There were representatives of universities, university students and also lecturers, who discussed the benefits and skills gained by choosing to further your languagestudies in university. We were fortunate enough to gain an insight in to what learning a language would be like with current students talking about their personal experiences. Their passion for languages encouraged myself and my peers to realise the benefits of being bi-lingual in today’s society. It helped us to develop a broader understanding of the advantages of languages that most of us were unaware of. All in all, Language for My Future certainly widened our understanding and knowledge about studying language in Years 11 and 12 and at University. It was a valuable and advantageous experience for everyone! (By Ramudhi).

My trip to UWA was great. Listening to the students’ experiences allowed me to think about what I want to do and widened my options. The information about the LOTE Bonus for university entrance was useful to know. The presentation was also well organised and comfortable. My favourite part about the presentation was when the four students were being asked questions about their language learning journey. The reason for this is because I could relate to a lot of what they said about getting into languages. Something else that I noticed was that I usually don’t like sitting in one spot for long periods of time. However, for the entire presentation, I was intrigued and interested, which took my mind off the fact that I was sitting for almost two hours. Thank you for the experience! (By Shiavux).

For those who were unable to attend the forum, we have recorded the first part involving the panel discussion and welcome by Prof Alexandra Ludewig, Head of Humanities at the University of Western Australia.

We sincerely thank the many people representing the following organisations for taking part and supporting this event: University of Western Australia, Tertiary Institution Services Centre, School Curriculum and Standards Authority, Murdoch University, North Metropolitan TAFE and Edith Cowan University. A very big thank you to Dr Marinella Caruso, Sabine Kuuse and Karen Gregory for coordinating the event.

Languages in the Mainstream is a 12-month partnership project between the Modern Language Teachers Association of Western Australia Inc (MLTAWA) and the Office of Multicultural Interests (OMI).